January 19, 2011

A new way to watch new Japanese horror films

I like to plug movies rather than companies, but this brand new label is specialising in recent Japanese cinema, including horror films. I'm still a big fan of J-horror and it was always frustrating to hear about new films coming out in Japan, only to have to wait four or five years for a US or UK distributor to release it on DVD with the all-important English subtitles.

Japan Flix have the potential to be faster in making translated J-horror films available, and have some from 2009. Their label may also signpost the future of home viewing - the films will initially only be available to either watch online, or buy from iTunes in HD. An American firm, they hope to expand into the UK.

What immediately caught my eye was the debut of the latest in the Tomie series, Tomie vs Tomie (reviewed here) (made in 2007, also called Tomie x Tomie) which hasn't been available in the US before. It's on Japan flix here. While low-budget, it's one of the better sequels. It's not good news that Robogeisha director Noboru Iguchi is hoping to make the next Tomie instalment.

Japan Flix also have two new horror films directed by Koji Shiraishi, who last year caused controversy when his extreme Grotesque was banned in the UK. When usually his horror films are the typically spooky Ring-like urban legends, like Noroi: The Curse and Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman (reviewed here).

In the same vein are his two Teke Teke films, both available with Japan Flix. Shiraishi playing it safe with schoolgirls, urban legends, and a shot-on-video Tomie/Grudge vibe. The creepy killer creature scuttling around in the dark is effective, but the witless Scooby duo on its trail (above) make the detective work hard-going, even for a short film. Japan may still have a hundred urban legends, but it may have run out of inventive ones.

This tale is bloodier than most, the creature enjoys cutting its victims in half. I'm still interested in where the story goes next in Teke Teke 2.